Stadiums, arenas & big events
Greater Columbus Convention Center Towing for Visitors and Exhibitors
Trade shows, expos and the Arnold bring drivers from across the region to North High Street. If your car or van gives out mid-show, one call sorts it.
- Open 24/7, 365 days
- Flatbed-only fleet
- Price quoted before dispatch
- Licensed & insured
The Greater Columbus Convention Center stretches along North High Street between downtown and the Short North, with hotels on both sides and the Arena District just to the west. Its calendar is packed with trade shows, conventions, gaming conventions and the Arnold Sports Festival each late winter. A lot of the people who come are not from Columbus, and that makes Convention Center towing a little different from our other downtown work.
Visitors often do not have a local mechanic, a friend nearby or a clear sense of which garage they parked in. Exhibitors may be driving a loaded cargo van or a pickup with a trailer. Some cars sit for three or four days in a hotel garage and only reveal a problem on the morning of departure. Our job is to deal with all of that calmly, starting with a clear price before anything moves.
Auto Lyft USA is a locally owned company with a yard on Harrisburg Pike, a few minutes from I-70, I-71 and I-270. We run light-duty flatbeds, which suit cars, SUVs, minivans and most pickups. When the vehicle is bigger than that, we line up a heavy-wrecker partner and coordinate the job for you.
Problems that show up at a multi-day event
Cars at a convention tend to sit, and sitting is what exposes weak parts. We see batteries that faded over a long weekend in a cold garage, tires that slowly lost air on the drive in and finally went flat, and keys left in a booth or a hotel room safe after the car was locked.
Exhibitors bring their own set of issues: vans so heavily loaded that a tire blows on the way to the loading dock, rental box trucks that will not start, and personal cars that need to be moved while the owner is stuck working a booth all day.
If you are from out of town
Start by checking whether your rental agreement, insurance policy or a membership plan covers roadside help. If it does and their response works for you, use it. If you need help sooner or your plan does not cover this, call us directly. We take cards, give you the total price on the phone, and provide a receipt you can submit for reimbursement.
If the car needs a repair, we can carry it to an independent partner shop near downtown that will diagnose the problem and call you with a quote. If you would rather have it fixed at home, ask about long-distance towing to your home town.
- Have the address of your hotel ready, plus the garage name and level.
- Keep your ID and the vehicle registration or rental agreement handy for lockouts.
- Tell us if the car is a rental, so we can follow the rental company's instructions on where it goes.
Costs and how to plan around them
The rate card is the same for locals and visitors. A jump, unlock or tire change is a $75 flat fee. Towing means $125 to attach the car, then $7 for every mile it rides. Both add $4 a mile for the trip from our yard, and a weekend or overnight call adds the listed surcharge. Ohio sales tax follows the pickup county, and the convention center falls in Franklin County.
Want a number before you call? Use the online estimate or send a service request and we will reply with a quote.
Greater Columbus Convention Center: what drivers ask
Can I get Convention Center towing if I'm staying at a nearby hotel?
Yes. Give us the hotel name, the garage or valet lot where the car is, and the level. If the car is with a valet, let the valet desk know a tow is coming so they can bring the car to a safe loading spot or tell the driver where to go. We will give you a full price before we send the truck.
My rental car won't start downtown. Should I call you or the rental company?
Call the rental company first. Many rental agreements require their own roadside provider or approval before a tow, and the car may need to go to a specific location. If they authorize an outside company, or if you cannot reach them, we can help and give you a receipt for reimbursement. We will follow their instructions on where the car goes.
Can you tow a loaded cargo van or box truck from the loading area?
Our flatbeds handle cargo vans and many light-duty trucks when they are within weight limits. A heavily loaded van or a larger box truck may exceed what a light-duty carrier can safely haul. In that case we arrange a heavy-wrecker partner and coordinate the job. Tell the dispatcher the vehicle type, size and roughly how much cargo is aboard.
Could you haul my car back to my home state once the show wraps up?
Yes. We offer long-distance towing by flatbed, priced at $7 per loaded mile plus the hook-up and en-route mileage. Long trips are usually scheduled rather than rushed, so call as early as you can. When the fault looks minor, a local repair may beat the cost of a long haul, and we will help you weigh the two.
My car was in the hotel garage all weekend and now it's dead. What happened?
Most likely the battery slowly drained. Modern cars draw a small current even when parked, and an older battery may not survive several days of that, especially in cold weather. A jump usually gets the car going. Drive it for at least half an hour afterward, and have the battery tested soon, because it may fail again.
Can you pick up my car while I'm busy working a booth?
Often, yes. If you can leave the keys at a hotel front desk or with a coworker and the garage allows access, we can collect the car and take it to a shop or our yard. We will keep you posted by phone as the job moves along. Payment can be handled by phone with a card.
Is there extra cost for towing during the Arnold Sports Festival?
No. We do not raise prices for big events. The Arnold does bring heavy traffic and full garages around the convention center, which can affect timing, and the dispatcher will be honest about that. The weekend and overnight surcharges are the only time-based fees, and they apply the same way every week of the year.
Do you tow electric cars from downtown garages?
Yes. EVs ride on our flatbeds with the drive wheels off the road. The EV rate card is $150 to hook up, $7.50 per loaded mile and $2.50 a mile en-route. Some garages are too low for a carrier, so give us the garage name and level. If the battery is simply empty, a short tow to a public charger may be all it needs.
Broken down?
Tell us where in Greater Columbus Convention Center you are and what you drive; the quote comes before the truck.
Services here
Nearby towns
Auto Lyft USA is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Greater Columbus Convention Center, its operators or any event held there.
Where the trucks start
The flatbeds that cover Greater Columbus Convention Center are based on Harrisburg Pike (US-62) on Columbus's southwest side, and the phone is answered around the clock, 365 days a year.
1620 Harrisburg Pike
Columbus, OH 43223
Phone: (614) 633-8163
Email: lisa@autolyftusa.online
Directions to the yard